WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 530: Dragged to the Tiger's Den, Keep Your Wits and You'll Live

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Healing through divine power was closer to restoration. External wounds could be treated relatively easily, but internal injuries and illnesses were almost impossible to heal. That was why, even after Hilde healed me when I was ambushed and collapsed in Claudia, I had remained weak for several days.

So what about a regressor whose bones and muscles had been completely crushed?

"...Ah, ngh...!"

Shei had suffered wounds severe enough that it would not have been strange for her to die on the spot. Azzy had healed her, but her disrupted circulation and severe internal injuries remained.

At least Shei had mastered the Water Qi Art. Once someone learned the art of channeling qi into the body, they could reconnect broken bones and torn muscles with qi. Having somehow clung to life and returned to the mansion on my back, Shei pulled herself together despite being covered in blood and dirt.

"To think Shei, who was always so healthy, would go down so easily... Rest in peace."

"I'm not dead yet...!"

Looks like she still had the strength to answer. Her willpower was seriously impressive. Even after being beaten down by the Mountain Lord, she had somehow stayed conscious.

"...You received Tyrkanzyaka's blood. I thought you were going to die."

"Strictly speaking, it's different, but close enough."

"That's... a relief. That you didn't die."

Warm words from the regressor while she lay there helplessly? When she was sick and hurting, she got a little more honest and cute. I was practically moved...

'Hughes is a Beast King too, so he'll be able to talk things out with the Mountain Lord. While I rest for a while, Hughes will figure it out.'

She always stopped just one step short of being cute. She was trying to make me work again. Yeah, that suited her better.

"I'm not trying to hold it over you, but until I died today, I didn't even know I'd received blood. In other words, I really did risk my life. Don't forget that."

"I risked mine too...! Cough, hack!"

"It seems like either your neck or your life is still hanging by a thread. You're not going to die, are you?"

"I'm fine... I still have some strength left. I learned bloodcraft this time too. As long as I stay conscious and circulate my qi, I won't die..."

I used to envy people who had learned qi arts. Saying I still envied them now that I had an immortal body would be hypocritical, wouldn't it?

"...But I don't know what will happen if I lose consciousness. There are limits to the qi I can use unconsciously."

"If you think you're going to die, leave all your inheritance to me in your last words. Take everything out of your pocket too, just in case it closes."

"Forget it... If I die, everything ends."

'Hmph. Do you think I'd let my money fall into someone else's hands? Even if I die, I'll take it all with me!'

That was what it sounded like, but there was no need to overthink it. It meant exactly what she said. The moment she died, she would regress, so everything would end.

Shei gave a faint laugh and spoke through a groan.

"So... for now, talk to the Mountain Lord."

"You're practically at death's door, and you want me to sit down for a nice chat with the tiger that turned you into this?"

"When have you ever cared about me that much...? Finding out what the Mountain Lord wants comes first. If I'm listening to that, I don't think I'll fall asleep..."

Just as Shei groaned as though she might stop breathing, the Mountain Lord flung open the door and appeared.

"Did you summon me?"

Like a tiger, it really showed up the moment we mentioned it.

"Yeah. You said you had something to say?"

"More precisely, you must answer something for me."

"That means you have something to say. Fine. There's a patient here, so let's sit on the sofa over there."

"Grrr. Very well."

Shei seemed to want that too. I left the door slightly ajar and stepped out of the room.

The Mountain Lord had already leaped onto the sofa. With its head resting against the armrest and its legs stretched out comfortably, it looked exactly like an unemployed bum. Apparently pleased with the feel of the sofa, it purred a few times before looking around.

"Where is the dog?"

"If you mean Azzy, she's probably treating the injured person right now."

"Roar. I shall bring her."

The Mountain Lord leaped through the window and vanished. A little later, it jumped over the wall like lightning with Azzy held by the scruff in its mouth, then dropped her into the yard. Azzy looked around in confusion, saw me, and scampered over.

"I was kidnapped! Tiger carried me away in its mouth!"

"It says it has something to say."

"Just because it uses its mouth doesn't make it words! Woof! Violence!"

"Grrr. Do you truly wish to see my violence?"

Azzy went quiet in an instant. The Mountain Lord lay leisurely on the sofa, looking down at Azzy and me as we sat politely before it.

"Human, dog, and wolf. I have watched you beasts. Humans tamed wolves and called them dogs; those left untamed they called wolves."

The Mountain Lord slowly swished its long tail. Azzy's eyes naturally followed it. Every time the tail moved from side to side, Azzy's head moved with it.

Was this really a Beast King's grand discussion? It made me realize it was closer to a beast than a king. Its nature could not be denied.

"In truth, it is an ordinary matter. Beasts are generous when they are not hungry. When my stomach is full and my back is warm, I too overlook boars and deer. When I am in a good mood, the mountain beasts that watch my mood even dare to appear before me and linger."

"Sure. There's no reason to hunt if you're not hungry."

"You humans graze plants from the earth. Since you rarely starve, you could tame wolves throughout all seasons. Taming pack wolves and putting them to use is a violence unique to you humans. That is not a problem. But."

The Mountain Lord bared its teeth slightly and stared at me.

"How did wolves come to bear my violence instead?"

It felt like an oddly vague question for a beast. Still, a beast would never ask such an abstract question. As a Beast King, an entity of concept, it simply referred to concepts as though they were objects.

In other words, the Mountain Lord meant exactly what it said. Every beast was violent, so why were wolves more violent than all the others?

"Tiger, let me say this first. I'm human, but I was torn apart and eaten by humans before I vanished. I don't know everything now, nor do I have the power to encompass humanity. So what I know is closer to speculation than truth."

"Grr. Eaten by your own people. Useless."

"Hey! There must have been circumstances. Calling him useless is too harsh!"

...Well, I was useless. If I were still a proper King of Humanity, I would not need to speculate. My words would be the voice of my species and the truth.

But I was no longer an entity of concept, nor could I speak the truth. All I could offer were hypotheses more likely to be right.

"To think a human might give a wrong answer when questioned. Roar, it displeases me... Yet hearing it directly from a human is still better. Speak."

Wolves, dogs, violence, and gentleness. Recalling what I had learned, I answered.

"Humans, not me but other humans, tried to divide wolves and dogs into violence and gentleness. They wanted them to become kings representing those concepts themselves."

Wolves and dogs had existed. They belonged to the same kind, the same species, but after being separated and raised apart for so many years, even their Beast Kings would split apart.

The problem was that humans had interfered with that change.

"Originally, violence and gentleness coexist within beasts. Just like you and me. But some humans tried to make Fenrir the King of Violence and Azzy the King of Gentleness. Wolves came to represent all violence, so you, tiger, probably had to entrust your own violence to a mere wolf."

"Hmph..."

"And Azzy became the King of Gentleness, so she couldn't bite or scratch humans. Even when I poked her head like this, she couldn't resist."

Azzy lifted her head and clamped down hard on my hand.

"Woof woof! I bite now! I can bite!"

"Hey! I'm talking about the old days! Let go already! You don't need to prove it!"

Why had her attacking instincts returned after she gave up her crown? I had been happy that she was a little stronger, but did I have to watch a dog's mood now?

The Mountain Lord licked its forepaw sullenly before asking,

"Then what happened to the wolf?"

"Azzy passed on her crown. She told Fenrir to become king."

"Wolf is whole now! Dog and wolf are one! Bad and good!"

"Yeah. As Azzy said, Fenrir is an ordinary Beast King now. She has nothing to do with the concept of violence."

Like Nabi, the King of Cats, Fenrir had probably become a Beast King that was ordinarily violent and ordinarily kind. That was normal, really. A beast that attacked humans on sight was stranger.

The Mountain Lord? Its problem was that it was too strong, but it too was an ordinary Beast King. It was lying there calmly, licking its forepaw even now.

"Roar. Humans do pointless things with things they cannot even eat."

"I agree. Is there anything else you're curious about?"

"Nothing in particular. The remaining questions are for the human and the dog to answer. Since the wolf no longer bears my violence, I shall take my violence back for myself."

That was not something I could simply be happy about. The Mountain Lord was the King of Tigers. If it got upset, it could eat dozens of people living here. It had seen blood and was a little excited, so I should accommodate it for now.

"Want me to get you some meat?"

"If you offer tribute, I shall gladly accept it."

Its words were arrogant, but its tail was swishing faster. Was it hungry? I should call our usual place.

Leaving the Mountain Lord yawning widely, I crossed the yard and opened the front gate. The mansion built on the outskirts of Ende was clean but isolated, so there were fewer people around than in the city center.

...But the people of Ende were not fools. They could not simply leave a mansion containing the Mountain Lord, Azzy, the regressor, and me alone. I approached the nearest building and tapped the wall.

"Excuse me."

A window flew open, and one of the Obelisks appeared inside.

The Obelisk was an Ende guardian and a noble residing in Oberli, but after everything they had been through, they seemed tired rather than arrogant. The Obelisk assigned to watch the Mountain Lord asked me,

"What is it?"

"The Mountain Lord says it's hungry. It needs food."

"The Mountain Lord is...! I shall prepare it immediately! Hey, Ende's fate is at stake! Prepare twenty servings of food at once! Include raw meat with bones!"

It sounded like a lot of fuss, but feeding the Mountain Lord was that serious. It was the kind of creature that would eat people rather than go hungry.

"Is there anything else you require?"

"For now, no. Oh, could you give us some cloth for bandages or a few changes of clothes?"

"I should contact the sheep beastkin clan... What about cleaning?"

"The Mountain Lord is sensitive about its territory, so I wouldn't recommend it."

"Understood."

The Obelisk gave his orders, and pig beastkin and horse beastkin rushed out to carry them out. Watching them continue their busy work, I returned to the mansion.

Footnotes:

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